Unresectable Primary Tracheal Synovial Sarcoma

Synovial sarcoma (SS) comprises less than 1% of head and neck cancers, and less than five cases of adult primary tracheal SS have been described. This case describes a patient encountered at a community-based academic hospital, and retrospective chart review was performed for data collection. A woman in her forties presented with shortness of breath due to a superior mediastinal mass found to be an unresectable primary tracheal SS. Primary treatment resorted to curative-intent radiation therapy. Subsequent metastasis required systemic chemotherapy with pazopanib. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of this nature and adds to understanding the presentation, diagnosis, natural history, and treatment outcomes of primary tracheal SS. This case was exempt from review by the institutional review board and complied with privacy policy standards

Psychosis-Induced Exertional Rhabdomyolysis without Acute Kidney Injury or Myoglobinuria.

BACKGROUND Rhabdomyolysis is a clinical syndrome that results from skeletal muscle breakdown and the release of intracellular enzymes into systemic circulation [1,2]. We present a case of non-traumatic rhabdomyolysis with transaminitis, without myoglobinuria or acute kidney injury. Cases reports of rhabdomyolysis with elevation of serum creatine kinase (hyperCKemia) in the absence of myoglobinuria or renal failure are limited in the literature. CASE REPORT A 21-year-old man presented to the Emergency Department following an acute psychotic episode. One week earlier, his bloodwork had been within normal limits. Biochemical investigations on admission revealed hyperCKemia (590 000 U/L), transaminitis (AST, 628; ALT, 160), and normal creatinine (0.83), without myoglobinuria. Non-traumatic rhabdomyolysis was suspected, and the patient was treated with aggressive intravenous fluid resuscitation and transferred to Inpatient Psychiatry on day 10 of hospitalization. The complete metabolic panel was trended daily, without indication of kidney injury. The creatine kinase (CK) and liver function tests trended downward. CONCLUSIONS This report presents a rare case of exertional rhabdomyolysis with CK levels nearly 3000 times the upper limit of normal, without myoglobinuria or acute kidney injury. Acute kidney injury is a dangerous complication of rhabdomyolysis. Traditionally, clinicians use serum CK levels to predict the likelihood of acute kidney injury and/or renal failure in rhabdomyolysis. Ultimately, this patient was diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis with hyperCKemia and transaminitis without myoglobinuria or acute kidney injury. More research is needed to elucidate the protective patient characteristics against rhabdomyolysis-associated acute kidney injury, associations between CK and myoglobinuria, and diagnostic criteria for psychosis-associated hyperCKemia

Interaction between vortices in models with two order parameters

The interaction energy and force between widely separated strings is analyzed in a field theory having applications to superconducting cosmic strings, the SO(5) model of high-temperature superconductivity, and solitons in nonlinear optics. The field theory has two order parameters, one of which is broken in the vacuum (giving rise to strings), the other of which is unbroken in the vacuum but which could nonetheless be broken in the core of the string. If this does occur, there is an effect on the energetics of widely separated strings. This effect is important if the length scale of this second order parameter is longer than that of the other fields in the problem.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes in the text. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Vortex structure in chiral p-wave superconductors

We investigate the vortex structure in chiral p-wave superconductors by the Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory on a tight-binding model. We calculate the spatial structure of the pair potential and electronic state around a vortex, including the anisotropy of the Fermi surface and superconducting gap structure. The differences of the vortex structure between $\sin p_x + {\rm i} \sin p_y$-wave and $\sin p_x - {\rm i} \sin p_y$-wave superconductors are clarified in the vortex lattice state. We also discuss the winding $\mp 3$ case of the $\sin{(p_x+p_y)} \pm {\rm i} \sin{(-p_x+p_y)}$-wave superconductivity.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Next-to-Leading-Order QCD corrections to J/\psi(\Upsilon)+\gamma production at the LHC

In this work, we calculate the next-to-leading-order (NLO) QCD corrections to the process $p+p \to J/\psi + \gamma$ via the color-singlet mechanism at the LHC. The results show that the partial cross section ($p_t^{J/\psi}>$3GeV and $|y^{J/\psi,\gamma}|<$3) is enhanced by a factor of about 2.0, and the differential cross section can be enhanced by two orders of magnitude in the large transverse momentum region of $J/\psi$. Furthermore, the polarization of $J/\psi$ changes from transverse polarization at leading-order to longitudinal polarization at NLO. For the inclusive $J/\psi$ hadroproduction, it is known that the color-octet contributions are one order of magnitude larger than the color-singlet contribution, and the polarization distribution is dominated by the color-octet behavior at NLO. In contrast, for $J/\psi+\gamma$ production the color-singlet contribution is of the same order as the color-octet contribution, and the polarization distribution arises from both the color-singlet and color-octet. Therefore, measurements of $J/\psi$ production associated with a direct photon at the hadron collider could be an important supplement to testify the theoretical framework treating with the heavy quarkonium. In addition, an NLO QCD correction to $\Upsilon+\gamma$ production at the LHC is also presented in this paper.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Could Seals Prevent Cod Recovery in the Baltic Sea?

Fish populations are increasingly affected by multiple human and natural impacts including exploitation, eutrophication, habitat alteration and climate change. As a result many collapsed populations may have to recover in ecosystems whose structure and functioning differ from those in which they were formerly productive and supported sustainable fisheries. Here we investigate how a cod (Gadus morhua) population in the Baltic Sea whose biomass was reduced due to a combination of high exploitation and deteriorating environmental conditions might recover and develop in the 21st century in an ecosystem that likely will change due to both the already started recovery of a cod predator, the grey seal Halichoerus grypus, and projected climate impacts. Simulation modelling, assuming increased seal predation, fishing levels consistent with management plan targets and stable salinity, shows that the cod population could reach high levels well above the long-term average. Scenarios with similar seal and fishing levels but with 15% lower salinity suggest that the Baltic will still be able to support a cod population which can sustain a fishery, but biomass and yields will be lower. At present knowledge of cod and seal interactions, seal predation was found to have much lower impact on cod recovery, compared to the effects of exploitation and salinity. These results suggest that dual management objectives (recovery of both seal and cod populations) are realistic but success in achieving these goals will also depend on how climate change affects cod recruitment

Phase-Sensitive Impurity Effects in Vortex Core of Moderately Clean Chiral Superconductors

We study impurity effects in vortex core of two-dimensional moderately clean su perconductors within the quasiclassical theory. The impurity scattering rate \G amma(E) of the Andreev bound states in vortex core with +1 vorticity of p-wav e superconductors with {\mib d}=\hat{\mib z}(p_x+\iu p_y) is suppre ssed, compared to the normal state scattering rate $\Gamma_{\rm n}$ in the energ y region \Gamma_{\rm n}^3/E_\delta^2\ll E\ll E_\delta\equiv |\delta_0|\Delta_\i nfty with scattering phase shift $\delta_0$ $(|\delta_0|\ll 1)$ and the pair-po tential in bulk $\Delta_\infty$. Further we find that $\Gamma(E)/\Gamma_{\rm n}$ for p-wave superconductors with {\mib d}=\hat{\mib z}(p_x-\iu p_y) is at most {\cal O}(E/\Delta_\i nfty). These results are in marked contrast to the even-parity case (s,d-wave), where $\Gamma(E)/\Gamma_{\rm n}$ is known to be proportional to \ln(\Delta_\i nfty/E) . Parity- and chirality-dependences of impurity effects are attributed to the Andr eev reflections involved in the impurity-induced scattering between bound states . Implications for the flux flow conductivity is also discussed. Novel enhanceme nt of flux flow conductivity is expected to occur at $T\ll E_\delta$ for {\mib d}=\hat{\mib z}(p_x+\iu p_y) and at $T\ll \Delta_\infty$ for {\mib d}=\hat{\mib z}(p_x-\iu p_y).Comment: 9 pages, No figures, To appear in JPSJ Vol. 69, No. 10 (2000

Free flux flow resistivity in strongly overdoped high-T_c cuprate; purely viscous motion of the vortices in semiclassical d-wave superconductor

We report the free flux flow (FFF) resistivity associated with a purely viscous motion of the vortices in moderately clean d-wave superconductor Bi:2201 in the strongly overdoped regime (T_c=16K) for a wide range of the magnetic field in the vortex state. The FFF resistivity is obtained by measuring the microwave surface impedance at different microwave frequencies. It is found that the FFF resistivity is remarkably different from that of conventional s-wave superconductors. At low fields (H<0.2H_c2) the FFF resistivity increases linearly with H with a coefficient which is far larger than that found in conventional s-wave superconductors. At higher fields, the FFF resistivity increases in proportion to \sqrt H up to H_c2. Based on these results, the energy dissipation mechanism associated with the viscous vortex motion in "semiclassical" d-wave superconductors with gap nodes is discussed. Two possible scenarios are put forth for these field dependence; the enhancement of the quasiparticle relaxation rate and the reduction of the number of the quasiparticles participating the energy dissipation in d-wave vortex state.Comment: 9 pages 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

CRISPR-Cas9 screens in human cells and primary neurons identify modifiers of C9ORF72 dipeptide-repeat-protein toxicity.

Hexanucleotide-repeat expansions in the C9ORF72 gene are the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (c9ALS/FTD). The nucleotide-repeat expansions are translated into dipeptide-repeat (DPR) proteins, which are aggregation prone and may contribute to neurodegeneration. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to perform genome-wide gene-knockout screens for suppressors and enhancers of C9ORF72 DPR toxicity in human cells. We validated hits by performing secondary CRISPR-Cas9 screens in primary mouse neurons. We uncovered potent modifiers of DPR toxicity whose gene products function in nucleocytoplasmic transport, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), proteasome, RNA-processing pathways, and chromatin modification. One modifier, TMX2, modulated the ER-stress signature elicited by C9ORF72 DPRs in neurons and improved survival of human induced motor neurons from patients with C9ORF72 ALS. Together, our results demonstrate the promise of CRISPR-Cas9 screens in defining mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases

Impurity Effect on Kramer-Pesch Core Shrinkage in s-Wave Vortex and Chiral p-Wave Vortex

The low-temperature shrinking of the vortex core (Kramer-Pesch effect) is studied for an isolated single vortex for chiral p-wave and s-wave superconducting phases. The effect of nonmagnetic impurities on the vortex core radius is numerically investigated in the Born limit by means of a quasiclassical approach. It is shown that in the chiral p-wave phase the Kramer-Pesch effect displays a certain robustness against impurities owing to a specific quantum effect, while the s-wave phase reacts more sensitively to impurity scattering. This suggests chiral p-wave superconductors as promising candidates for the experimental observation of the Kramer-Pesch effect.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures; to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys.; Proc. of NATO ARW: VORTEX 2004, Yalta (Uknaine